Oakland Raiders name Terrelle Pryor starting quarterback for Jacksonville game

ALAMEDA -- Coach Dennis Allen on Monday declared Terrelle Pryor the Raiders' starting quarterback for their upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This comes as a departure from last week, when Allen refused to divulge whether Pryor or Matt Flynn was going to start the regular-season opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Pryor passed for 217 yards and rushed for a league-high 112 yards in the Raiders 21-17 loss to the Colts. He was intercepted twice, including on the Raiders final play deep in Colts territory.

Pryor started only one game his first two NFL seasons. He received the nod Sunday based on the fact he outperformed Flynn during exhibition games. Pryor called his performance Sunday "awful." Allen said that shows Pryor's passion and dedication. Just the same, there's plenty of room for improvement.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that he was awful," Allen said Monday, "but he also understands that there's some critical mistakes in the game that we got to get corrected because we can't have those."

Pryor will be available for comment later this afternoon. Allen spoke before media were permitted access to players.

The Raiders aren't the only NFL team with instability at their quarterback position right now.

Jacksonville announced Monday that starter Blaine Gabbert won't play against the Raiders this Sunday because of a hand injury that he suffered in his team's opener.

Instead, the Jaguars will go with Chad Henne, who relieved an injured Gabbert in early in a game against the Raiders in Oakland last season.

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Adding to the storyline, Pryor played college football at Ohio State. Henne is a University of Michigan product.